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Loyola going dark to shine light on smart energy use

This weekend is another chance for Loyola and its students to show their commitment to sustainability.

On Saturday night at 8:30, Loyola—along with hundreds of millions of people around the globe—will turn off all non-essential lights during Earth Hour to raise awareness for sustainability and the environmental challenges we all face.

Loyola invites all faculty, staff, and students to join in Earth Hour and take a stand on climate change. Participating is easy:

• Turn off your lights, TVs, computers, and other electronics this Saturday starting at 8:30 p.m.

• Invite your friends for a lights-out, unplugged gathering for international solidarity.

• Why stop after an hour? Make conserving energy part of your daily living.

• And spread the word—we are all in this together.

At Loyola, we take sustainability to heart and apply it to everything we do—from the courses we offer to the buildings we construct. For instance:

• Through renewable energy installations and a commitment to LEED-certified buildings, we’ve cut our energy use on the Lake Shore Campus in half over the past decade—saving the University more than $2 million a year in energy costs.

• Loyola has saved more than 58 million gallons of water thanks to its conservation efforts on campus. The University also is leading the region by banning bottle water on campus to save students money, reduce plastic waste, and address global water privatization.

• Loyola offers nearly 80 courses across the University that touch on sustainability concepts. Programs such as ChainLinks, the Biodiesel Lab, and the farm at the Retreat and Ecology Campus let students take what they’ve learned in the classroom and apply those lessons to the real world.

Click here for more information about Earth Hour, and go here to learn more about Loyola’s sustainability programs.